If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact contact us.

The Muscle and Brawn Forum is dedicated to no nonsense muscle and strength building. If you need advice that works, you have come to the right place. This forum focuses on building strength and muscle using the basics. You will also find that the Muscle and Brawn community stresses encouragement and respect. Trolls and name calling are not allowed here. No matter what your personal goals are, you will be given effective advice that produces results.

Please consider registering. It takes 30 seconds, and will allow you to get the most out of the forum.

Muscle Building and BodybuildingTopics related to muscle building, bodybuilding, including training and fullbody workouts. If you are looking for great advice on gaining muscle this forum is for you.

Posting this for discussion, as I found it an interesting quote. It's from an upcoming article by bodybuilding writer Jim Brewster.

Quote:

When Iím online and I see various training ideas, Iím naturally most intrigued by any training concept that has a lot of science behind it. Trust me, Iím not a ďlift big, eat big, grow big Ė itís simpleĒ kind of guy. The truth is, itís anything but simple and even that simple piece of advice leaves a million questions unanswered.

He's a writer, so "simple" doesn't get his articles into print.
He may also be more advanced and needs complexity. Probably forgot how simple it is to just get started. In the begining; lift big, eat big, grow big works pretty darned well for most.

I think it's simple and then, it isn't. The big problem, to me, appears to be people thinking they are eating big and lifting big when, in fact, they aren't.

Once you get that concept down and can pack on, say 15-20 pounds, then you are likely at a point where you might want to being a deeper understanding of how your body responds to training frequency/volume and how you might need to tweak meal timing and/or composition.

A few questions which I think are worth considering when looking at this:

1) Do you need to know why a routine works, or just that has worked?

2) Imagine two identical routines which are very basic and produce results. Routine A is simply the basic routine, Routine B is the same basic routine plus a scientific explanation breaking it down. Which is more or less valid to you, which is more or less what you'd go to?

Even the definition of complex needs some work. For someone just starting, learning the deadlift or squat properly is a complex issue. Much of what we term as complex is not the exercise itself, but the routine, timing or weight percentages we apply to said exercise. Most routines I see are, on the surface, relatively simple. When you start to get into the whys behind them and the descriptions of how to set them up, then they become complex.

As to the "lift big, eat big, grow big," concept... What new complex innovation has come out to supplant this view point? Have I really missed something?

<sigh> That seems like the beginning of an article that ends up with the everyday guy being in a state of paralysis by analysis. Science is great, but what is so wrong with a "lift big, eat big, grow big Ė itís simpleĒ approach?

The hardest thing I had to learn when I started lifting again was...keep it simple, heavy compound lifts, eat big, rest. Getting over the mental humps of "i have to do a 5-day bodypart split" and "i'll get fat if I eat that much" was the hardest part for me. Sure, there are tons of other questions, but if you can follow that simple plan, you've answered the most important questions.

For someone just starting, learning the deadlift or squat properly is a complex issue.

I will add to that progression. How to progress is not something conventionally taught in the magazine routines, so it is still completely foreign to most young lifters who post there workouts on forums, looking for a critique.

Usually they list sets and exercises. The first question I ask is, what does your progression scheme look like?

I guess my point here is that most times the basics are glossed over, leaving a younger lifter without a solid foundation, which only makes things harder. Things can feel overly-complicated because they are missing vital information.

Most people don't know how to process studies on their own and are likely to fall prey to someone's misinterpretation or mis-application of information because of the author's excitement and conviction. Which expert do we choose? I've seen a lot of opinions based on studies and then turn around and see 99% of people doing the opposite and being successful.